The weekend’s box office estimates resemble something from scripture as Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ rose again to conquer the spawn of hell. The CG-heavy Hellboy descended to the No.2 spot in the wake of The Passion’s industry-stunning $17 million Easter holiday resurrection.
Even Disney’s big-budget historical epic, The Alamo, proved no match for NewMarket’s Passion, which has made around $354 million domestically in seven weeks and may overtake The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as the year’s top earner. The Alamo suffered a fourth place finish behind fellow newcomer Johnson Family Vacation, which brought in around $11.6 million for FoxSearchlight. In its second week, MGM’s remake of Walking Tall finished out the top five with an estimated $8.3 million.
Disney’s animated Home on the Range may be floundering in sixth place with around $8.2 million for the weekend, but it still did better than newcomers The Whole Ten Yards from Warner Bros. ($6.7 million), Ella Enchanted from Miramax ($6.1 million) and The Girl Next Door ($6 million.)
The "turn the other cheek" philosophy will be challenged next week when vigilante justice comes to theaters with Miramax’s Kill Bill Vol. 2 and the Lions Gate/Marvel comic book adaptation The Punisher. Kill Bill Vol. 1, featuring an anime segment by Production I.G., lands on video shelves tomorrow.
